Government forces and Lebanese allies from the Hezbollah group have besieged the town for weeks, as part of a battle for control of key transport routes.

Yabroud was the last rebel bastion near the Lebanese border north of Damascus. Capturing the town would help President Bashar al-Assad cut off a cross-border rebel supply line from Lebanon.

According to media activists the best fighters of these brigades went to Yabroud to defend it from the government, even a brigade from ISIS who is hostile towards Al-Nusra believed that it was the right thing to do and joined the battle.

The Army supported by Hezbollah bombed and shelled militant positions the city for weeks and have managed to capture the city on 16 march.

After taking strategic hills and mountains in the Qalamoun area it was only a matter of time before the Syrian Army and Hezbollah would advance into the city.

Most rebels withdrew over the weekend to nearby towns and villages such as Rankous and Fleita, prompting Jabhat a-Nusra and other hardline groups to accuse fighters from the Free Syrian Army and the Islamic Front of having betrayed the rebel cause in Yabroud.

Many fighters from Jabhat Al-Nusra and ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq And Syria) stayed in the city and prompted to fight till death while a huge amount of the other factions withdrew or surrendered to the government.